[NSFW] Cable employee admits replacing Superbowl feed with porn

NSFW An Arizona man has admitted he was the one who interrupted the 2009 Superbowl broadcast to thousands of cable subscribers and replaced it with footage from an X-rated porno flick, according to published news reports.

Frank Tanori Gonzalez pleaded guilty to two counts of computer tampering in a plea agreement that called for him to pay a $1,000 fine and serve three years of probation. If he successfully meets the terms, the crime will be downgraded from a felony to a misdemeanor.

Gonzalez was an employee of Cox Communications who served as a liaison to competing cable provider Comcast when he accessed the latter’s computer system without authorization on two separate occasions. During the second incident, in February 2009, he interrupted the Superbowl broadcast available to 80,000 Comcast subscribers, and replaced it with a 37-second clip from the explicit “Wild Cherries 5” porno film.

The clip shows a woman giggling as she wrestles the trousers off of a man to expose his nearly erect penis. A man off-screen provides commentary.

The lewd footage replaced the live broadcast of the Superbowl just seconds after Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald completed a dramatic touchdown in the last three minutes of the game. Arizona ended up losing to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Google Video has what purports to be video of the prank here, but the reader is warned it is extremely NSFW.

The X-rated clip was aired over the standard definition broadcast delivered to Comcast subscribers viewing the match on local TV station KVOA. A high-definition feed was unaffected.

Officials with the Arizona Attorney General’s office weren’t immediately available to discuss the case.

Officials with Comcast have said they have improved their security system, according toThe Arizona Daily Star. More from The Phoenix New Times is here. ®